A woman cries inside her damaged house which was damaged in a gunbattle between security forces and suspected militants in Mujgund on the outskirts of Srinagar, yesterday.

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Agencies/Srinagar

At least three militants were killed in an overnight gunbattle with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir, police said yesterday.An army soldier, a paramilitary trooper and three policemen were reportedly injured in the 18-hour encounter that broke out in the Mujgund village near the state capital Srinagar on Saturday evening.It began after the insurgents fired on the security forces who were conducting a search operation in the area, the police said.The militants were on the run and had taken shelter in a house in the village.The slain militants included the Pakistani commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and two locals, they added.The police identified the two Kashmiri militants as Mudasir Parray and Saquib Mushtaq, both hailing from Hajin area of north Kashmir’s Bandipore district.The third militant was identified as Ali Bhai, who is a resident of Pakistan.“All the militants belonged to the LeT militant outfit,” a police officer said.Four residential homes were also damaged during the operation as militants kept on changing locations during the gunfight within the cordoned off area.As news of the killing of the rebels spread, scores of villagers gathered and threw stones at the security forces, witnesses said.Meanwhile, a Hizbul militant’s close associate, who has been motivating youths to join militant ranks, was arrested in Kishtwar district, police said yesterday.The militant was identified as Riyaz Ahmad, who has been associate with Hizbul militant Mohamed Amin, an officer said.